Transformers: Starcrossed
by LibraryNexus
Summary: There is more than meets the eye to Jack Darby. Sierra has always known that. But what is it? AU telling of Transformers Prime. Based off of Elhini Prime's 'Son Of The Stars.'
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey, so I was reading Elhini Prime's stories, when I was hit by this plot bunny: What if Ultimus had known his identity before he did? And one thing led to another, and I rounded up a few more plot bunnies, and this was the result.**_

_**Well, let's see if this works.**_

_**I don't own Transformers Prime. Only my own OCs.**_

Darkness Rising Pt. 1

The sun was setting over a red Mustang that was driving down the highway. As it went down it, a voice came from it. "So there I am on lookout, when these high beams hit my rearview. Then it hits me. I'm illegally parked!"

"So what, another parking ticket?" This voice came from a blue motorcycle with pink highlights that was driving along a desert road. If one looked closely at its rider, they would have seen that she was flickering in and out.

"Even better: the boot!"

"Big metal tire clamp, impossible to remove."

"Bingo! So, I let the local police do their thing, let them get down the block. That's when I kick off my shiny new shoe, and bam!"

"New York's finest soil themselves."

"Hey, you know me, 'Cee. You mess with Cliffjumper…"

"And you get the horns."

"I hope you aren't doing any of this around Aurora."

There were few things that terrified Cliffjumper: Scraplets, the Fallen, and Unicron were some of them.

His sparkmate when angry? Definitely.

"No worries, I won't," he said. "Besides, cut me some slack. Patrolling for Energon here in dullsville is the most boring thing that has ever happen. Almost makes me miss the 'Cons."

"Like Jasper, Nevada's a party," shot back Arcee. "Which is where I've been ever since Aurora has switched to low-grade. Ratchet's keeping me here until I 'get back into shape.'"

"His words?"

"What do you think?"

Before Cliffjumper could continue their banter, one of his sensors started beeping. "I'm picking up a signal," he said.

"Need backup?"

"Do I ever?" he asked as he drove off the road. Reaching the edge of a crater, the car transformed. Standing in the car's place was a thirty-foot humanoid robot. The parts of the car he transformed from became armor and his plating had also shifted, revealing an iron-grey skin-like metal. He had two small horns on his helm, his most prominent feature.

"Energon!" he said. "And a whole lot of it!"

That was when he was hit by a blaster that knocked him into the mine. Picking himself up, he saw purple robots standing on the edge with a purple warship floating above them. "Decepticons!" Cliffjumper said. He put a digit to his helm. "Arcee, about that backup…" he said.

* * *

On the open plain, a red and blue semi-truck was rolling down the highway. This wouldn't have been unusual, except that this truck didn't have a driver. This was Optimus Prime, noble leader of the Autobots. The great Prime was taking a rare chance to observe the scenery when a voice came over his radio.

"_Arcee to Optimus, the 'Cons are back, and Cliffjumper may be in some scrap!"_

"Understood," Optimus said. "Ratchet, do you have Cliffjumper's coordinates?"

His answer came from an ambulance that was driving in the midst of a small snowstorm. "I've locked on his signal," he replied. "But our team is scattered several timezones. The only one in the base at the moment is Firewall."

"_What about the other two?"_

His answer came from a human-sized robot standing at a control panel in an underground base. "Ultimus has work and Kaosu is in trouble with her teachers again."

"_Very well. Arcee."_

The motorcycle pulled up at a stoplight.

"_Bulkhead."_

A green SUV skidded to a halt in a forested clearing.

"_Bumblebee."_

A yellow muscle car stopped in another desert.

"_Wheeljack."_

This one was a white sports car with green and red highlights who pulled on a coastal road.

"_Elita-1."_

A pink convertible in a parking lot started up.

"_Rendezvous at base and prepare to groundbridge."_

All five vehicles seemed to nod and drive off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cliffjumper had engaged the Decepticons. He had taken out quite a few and was doing well all things considered. However, numbers were not on his side, for every drone he took down, another took its place. Eventually, they had thrown him into the depression the Energon was in knocking off one of his horns in the process. That got him mad.

"You want the horns?" he said, transforming his servos into blasters. "You've got them!"

After a few of their kind were taken out, the Vehicons started returning fire. One of their shots hit the Energon crystals behind Cliff and ignited it. The resulting explosion ignited the volatile substance and blew up the rest of it and knocked Cliffjumper out of the fight. A couple of Vehicons dragged the red Autobot away from the debris and onto the warship, which had extended a yellow tube. With its newest passengers aboard, it took off.

When the ship was out of sight, a green vortex opened up. Out drove the vehicles from earlier, which transformed into robots that were similar to Cliffjumper. They got into battle stance ready to fight an enemy… that wasn't there anymore. With no hostiles in sight. They relaxed and approached the now smoking crater. "An untapped Energon deposit," said Optimus, the bot that had transformed from the semi.

"Or what's left of it," said Bulkhead, identified as the green SUV.

"First sign of Decepticon activity in three years," said Ratchet, who was the ambulance.

"That we know of," corrected the pink bot that had previously been the convertible. This was Elita-1, the second-in-command of the Autobot forces on Earth, and the sparkmate of Optimus Prime.

"If they're scouting for Energon now, they might be preparing for _his_ return."

They all knew who _he_ was.

Arcee then let out a strangled gasp and ran down the slope everyone looked as she picked up a piece of metal that was identifiable as one of Cliffjumper's horns.

She looked up at the rest of her team. "We have to find him," she said.

Optimus helped her back up. "Don't worry," he said. "We will find him.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the Decepticon warship, a silver robot stood at the helm, looking at the cloud of smoke that was rising up from the remains of the deposit. "The Energon…it's useless to me know," he said. This was Starscream, leader of the Decepticons. He different from the Autobots, not just in whose side he was on, but in the fact that he had wings on his back. He was a schemer, and he had enjoyed the position he had held for the past three years.

He would have been taken seriously if not for his high heels.

He turned around to see the two Vehicons dragging Cliffjumper. They forced him on the ground and the red Autobot looked up.

"Scream, it's been a while," said Cliffjumper, pausing to spit some Energon out of his mouth. "So, where's your master?"

"Never mind him! I am my own master now!" screeched the silver Seeker. He then plunged his talons into Cliffjumper's chest, right into his spark "Any other questions?"

Cliffjumper didn't answer, as he was contacting his sparkmate through their bond. _Arcee… I… love… you…_

Cliffjumper fell forward, and went offline.

"Clean that up," said Starscream, not caring about the Energon dripping off of his servos.

* * *

Arcee fell to her knees with a cry, servos grasping at her spark. Ratchet looked at his scanner, but it only confirmed what he feared.

"Cliffjumper's signal has gone… offline," he said with a heavy spark.

Elita approached her sister who had gone into a sitting position, clutching her knees and rocking back and forth.

"Arcee," she said. "Please, you have to be strong. For Aurora. Your sparkling. She needs you. You can't give up yet."

The other femme looked at her sister then collapsed into her arms.

Optimus activated his comm. link. "Firewall, send a groundbridge," he said.

The green vortex opened again, the remaining Autobots entered it.

* * *

Sierra Cody looked at a chemistry problem. "Can you explain how to do this one again?" she asked. When her lab partner didn't respond, she turned her head to look at him.

Jack Darby was staring into space. He was an average sixteen-year old, with black hair and storm-blue eyes that occasionally flashed bright blue. He was dressed in his usual attire of grey shirts with long sleeves and faded jeans. He was Sierra's next-door neighbor and occasional tutor.

Today, however, he was distracted, looking out the window and sometimes at the mantle. Sierra soon had enough. "Earth to Jack," she said, snapping her fingers.

Jack came back to the present. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" he asked.

Sierra frowned and closed her book. "Okay Jack, spill," she said. "Something has been bothering you all day. So, what is it?"

He looked like he was about to say something, but he then sighed and looked at the mantle. Sierra followed his gazed to a particular photo. It was one of Jack's family. In it was Jack himself along with his parents. Jack's father looked the same as when Sierra had last seen the man, wearing a red flannel shirt with blue jeans. His black hair was longish, and he had a short beard, but there was a twinkle of kindness in his eyes. He wasn't usually around, as he worked as a trucker. He had his arm around Jack's mother. She was dressed in her work uniform, green scrubs with a yellow coat thrown over it. She too had long black hair, and was smiling playfully in the picture.

There were another couple in the picture as well. The male in it had darker skin and a military haircut. He was dressed in a dark red sports coat, and had a Rams cap on his head. He had his arm around a young lady who was dressed in blue. She had a couple of blue and pink streaks in her hair and shared the same blue eyes with Jack's mother. She was dressed in all blue with a dark blue leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet under her arm.

"I lost my uncle yesterday," Jack said. "Hit me pretty hard."

"Oh," said Sierra, tracing a finger over the dark man's image. "How's your aunt taking it?"

"Pretty hard also. Doesn't help that she has a child."

"Oh." She didn't say anything for a while. Then she said, "I got to go."

Jack looked up at her. "See you tomorrow?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Probably."

"See you then."

* * *

Back on the _Nemesis, _Starscream turned around at the sound of quiet heeltaps. He turned to see another Seeker standing behind him. This one was colored blue-green and purple and also had heels, although this one had an excuse for wearing them.

Starscream scowled. "What do you want, Slipstream?" he growled.

His sister stood unintimidated by his threat. "Soundwave here," she said, indicating the visored mech behind her, "has picked up a transmission that may be important to us."

Starscream scowled. "And just what is this transmission?" he asked.

Soundwave played an audio clip. _"Like Jasper, Nevada's a party,"_ Arcee's voice said.

Starscream grinned. "Of course," he said. "Why settle for one Autobot, when we have the advantage of surprise?"

Slipstream shook her helm. "Sometimes, I wonder how we have lasted this long," she muttered.

* * *

One of the mesas in the Jasper desert is no ordinary mesa. Instead, it is home to the Autobots. Currently, they were assembled on top of it, paying their last respects to Cliffjumper. Solemnly, Optimus placed his horn, the only piece they were able to find, on a pile of stones they had just built. Normally, this was the job of the sparkmate, but Arcee was busy. She was holding Aurora, her tiny light-blue child, or sparkling. She was armored like Arcee, expect her helm had small horns much like her absent sire.

"We must not allow our anger over the death of Cliffjumper to cloud our judgement," Optimus said. "For as of today, we seven are the only Autobots left on Earth."

"What about us?" someone asked. Optimus turned to see a pink femme standing near the back. "We can fight."

Optimus shook his helm. "Firewall is too young, Kaosu," he said. "And you have barely completed your training. You are not ready yet." His optics darkened. "And neither is my son."

The femme, Kaosu, pouted. "Fine," she said, walking away.

Optimus faced the rest of the Autobots. He spoke a bit more, but Arcee tuned it out. She was focusing on her spark, and the emptiness it had and on the welfare of her daughter. She only responded when a gentle servo took her arm and led her away.

Ratchet approached Optimus. "Optimus," he said. "Helping the humans will only lead to more tragedy."

"Your opinion is noted," said Optimus.

Elita approached the medic. "How is my sister?" she asked.

He sighed. "She's becoming unresponsive, but that is to be expected. As long as she snaps out of it by the next solar cycle, she should be fine."

The femme looked at her sister, who was being led back inside by a surprisingly gentle Wheeljack. "And if she doesn't?"

Ratchet shook his helm. "I honestly don't know."

* * *

Jack exited his place of work, the K.O. Burger. "Can't believe someone drove off without paying _again."_ He muttered "Someday, I'm going to level this place."

He suddenly stopped as he felt something approach. "Cons," he said. "And my signature is showing up on the radar also. Better hide. Don't want them to connect Jack Darby to the Autobots." He looked around the restaurant. "Aha!" he said, finding what he was looking for.

Two minutes later, two purple cars drove by, paying no attention to a stationary blue and silver motorcycle.

Ultimus chuckled. "Works every time," he said. "Now, to get out of here."

He froze when he saw Sierra approaching.

_Scrap, forgot she was meeting me today, _he thought.

Sierra was unaware of the motorcycle's predicament as she walked beside it. "Wonder what's taking Jack so long?" she said.

_Wouldn't you want to know,_ the motorcycle thought.

Sierra looked around until she saw the motorcycle. "Well, his bike's here, so he can't be too far away."

_Dad said that was a bad idea, introducing myself as my way of transportation, _Ultimus thought. _Wait,_ he thought when he saw Sierra approaching him. _Is she going to…?_

She sat on his seat.

_Yes, she did. Okay, this is uncomfortable._

Unaware of the mood the bike was in, Sierra ran a finger on one of the edges. "Jack certainly takes care of you," she said.

Ultimus shuddered. _That feels good… DON'T PURR! DON'T PURR!_

"But where is your owner?"

Before the situation could progress, a couple of headlights shone in the parking lot, blinding the human girl.

_Scrap!_ thought Ultimus.

Sierra shrieked as the motorcycle took off.

"Don't let go," a voice said.

"Who said that?" Sierra shouted.

It didn't respond, just hit the brakes and let two purple cars slam against each other. Speeding ahead, it went into an alley and let Sierra get off.

"Who are you?" asked Sierra.

"I don't exist," said the motorcycle. "Don't tell anyone about me, and you won't be hunted down."

Sierra gave a hurried nod and ran down an alley, not wanting to find out if the bike would make good on its threat.

Ultimus sighed. Now that Sierra was out of the way, he could focus on getting to a safe spot to take out the drones.

However, fate loves to throw wrenches into the plans of men and robots. For while one Con chased after Ultimus, the other went after Sierra.

_Frag you, Murphy,_ thought Ultimus and he jumped his pursuer and went the other way.

Sierra was running as fast as her too feet could take her. "Of all the days to wear a skirt," she said.

A car horn grabbed her attention. "I don't even know him!" she shouted.

A small engine caught her attention and she saw the same bike jump the vehicle and land right beside her. "Get on!" it said.

Sierra didn't waste breath arguing.

They got back on the main road, with the purple cars close behind. Guns popped out of the car's hoods and began firing.

"Why are they shooting us?" Sierra asked.

"It's just me, you got on at the wrong time."

"Then let me off!"

"That's what I was doing in the alley!"

Ultimus pulled onto the highway, hoping to get some distance between him and the 'Cons. However, that didn't work as they kept coming. Thankfully, a pink pickup truck came into the same lane and rammed into one of them.

"Friend of yours?" Sierra asked.

"Yes," came the reply.

Ultimus started looking for a place to drop Sierra off. It had to be one where no one would notice a motorcycle drive away.

* * *

While Sierra was getting the ride of her life, two young boys were playing in a drained canal. Rafeal Esquivel and Terrance Patterson were racing RC cars. Raf was twelve (and a quarter!) with orange spiky hair and red-framed glasses. Terry was eighteen and lanky as could be. His messy brown hair kept getting in his way, to his annoyance. The two were great friends, despite their six-year age difference.

Terry's phone rang and he picked it up. "Hey, Mom," he said. "I'm down the street racing cars with Raf. Just five more minutes? Thanks, you're the best. Bye."

"Your mom?" Raf asked.

"Yep. Hey, your brother coming anytime soon?"

Before the tween could answer, an engine sounded, and a motorcycle with Sierra on it came flying over their heads and landed before them. "Whoa, awesome!" said Terry.

"You have no idea," said Sierra.

"Trouble?" asked Raf. But before the girl could answer, the cars that were chasing her slid down and transformed into giant robots.

"I don't think they're friendly," said Terry, backing up.

"Don't worry," a voice said. "I am."

They looked behind them to see the motorcycle go through the same process. Except that this robot seemed bigger than it should be. He stood about thirty feet tall, and had blue and silver armor. The handlebars of the motorcycle could be seen on his shoulders, along with a pair of jet wings. Two wheels were on each boot-like foot and an additional two could be seen in its hips. A battlemask covered all of his face except for its eyes, or optics.

"Let's do this," he said cracking his servos. He then charged the other robots.

He took one out with a couple of punches, and threw the other one over his shoulder.

Looking at the mess, it shook his helm and said, "Megs really should get his money back."

That was when he was hit by a blaster bolt and someone said, "Perhaps. But they aren't as careless as you."

The bot stood up and looked up and the humans followed his eyes. Standing under the bridge was another robot. This one was a purple and tan color, with a light blue face, with one eye more like a monocle. He stood about twenty-five feet high, and had wings on his back as well as a couple of turrets and his legs were more like tank treads.

The bot picked himself off the ground. "Blitzwolfer," he said. "Haven't seen your ugly face in a while. Or should I say faces?"

The new robot's face was replaced with a different one. This one was colored red and the optics were hidden by a single visor. "ZE NAME IS BLITZWING!" he shouted. "REMEMBER THAT AUTOBOT! BECAUSE IT'S THE LAST THING YOU WILL HEAR BEFORE I-"

His face switched again, this time for a black one that resembled a jack-o-lantern. "-_express my feelings in song! DOMO ARIGOTO, MR. ROBOTO_!"

Before the crazy bot could continue, the pink pickup drove off of the highway above. As it fell, it also shifted until a twenty-foot robot landed feet first on Blitzwing's helm. As it jumped off, Sierra could see that it had a more feminine build. She had two of her wheels on her back while the truck's hood made up her chest.

The new femme pumped a fist. "BOO-YAH!" she said. "Take that Con!"

She then froze as she heard a snap. She lifted a pede to see that she had stepped on Terry's RC car. "Sorry," she said.

"Hey, no worries," he replied.

She couldn't reply as one of the Vehicons had gotten back up and tackled her… only to be thrown off by the first robot.

"Kaosu, do you think you can take the drones while I face Blitzwing?" he asked as he helped her up.

Kaosu rolled her optics. "Of course I can, Ultimus," she said. "You're sounding more like your dad every day."

"I'll ignore that," he said as the purple bot got up. He turned to the humans. "If I were you, I'd get out of here. You could get hurt."

"Sure," said Sierra, not wanting to get in the middle of the robot fight.

Ultimus breathed a sigh of relief as the humans ran down a drainage pipe. Turning to Kaosu, he said, "Let's kick some aft."

She answered with a predatory grin. "Now you're speaking my language," she said, deploying a pair of energy hammers.

Ulitmus rolled his optics. "Just don't destroy the bridge this time," he said, activating a battlesword.

"Whatever." With that, the duo faced their designated foes.

Blitzwing had gotten up with his angry face. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT, AUTOBOTS!" he cried.

Just then, a horn sounded and a SUV and an Urbana 500 drove up and transformed into another pair of mechs. The first one was a twenty-five foot mech with a green paint job. The second one was a twenty foot mech with yellow and black stripes who got in a wrestler's position.

The green mech took a more direct approach. "Who wants to rumble?" he said, banging his servos together.

Blitzwing turned to his calculating face. "These variables call for a different approach," he said. Switching to random, he added, _"RUN AWAY!"_

With that order given, he transformed and jetted away with the Vehicons going to car form and speeding away.

Ultimus disengaged his battlemask and turned to face the green mech who was Bulkhead. "What took you two so long?" he asked.

He shrugged "Traffic," he said.

Bumblebee, the yellow mech, lifted up his doorwings. **"So, what did we miss?" **he asked.

Kaosu laughed. "Only me landing on Blitzy's face!" she said.

"We'll explain when we get to base," said Ultimus. He put a digit to the side of his helm. "Ultimus to base, please send a groundbridge."

A green vortex appeared and the four bots went into it.

* * *

Ultimus had just finished explaining what had happened to his parents. Optimus was thinking on what his son had told him.

"So, humans caught you in action?" he asked.

Ultimus nodded. "Yes, Sierra and another boy. I think Firewall knows him."

Optimus nodded, deep in thought.

Ratchet knew that look and didn't like it. "You're not thinking what I think you are thinking," he said.

Optimus nodded. "If the Decepticons are targeting us, anyone associated with us would be at risk."

* * *

Sierra caught up with Raf and Terry after school the next day. "Guys," she said. "About what we saw yesterday, I think that it would be best if we forgot about it."

Terry nodded while Raf mentally rolled his eyes. If she only knew…

He was interrupted from his musing by a car horn. He looked up to see his ride home waving his hand.

Sierra watched as Raf ran over to his brother's car. Ben 'Bee' Esquivel was eighteen years old, with bright blond, almost yellow, hair. It certainly matched his car, she noted noticing the bright yellow that was also its main color. Bee was dressed in a yellow jacket over a black shirt, and jeans. He didn't speak, having lost his voice at a young age.

Raf watched as Bee's hands move in a flurry of movement. He grew worried. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Bee nodded.

Raf sighed. "Very well," he said. He called over to Terry. Sierra watched as the young teen walked over to the bright Urbana. Satisfied that he had gotten a ride, she started making her own way home.

"Hey, Sierra." She turned around to see Jack running after her.

"Hi, Jack," she answered. "Sorry about yesterday, but something came up."

"Yeah, I bet," he answered, knowing full well what had happened to her.

"Well, I've got to go," she said, turning into an alley to take a shortcut to her house.

Jack sighed and ran after her. "Hey!" he said. "Can I ask you something?"

Sierra turned around. "What?" she asked.

"Well," he said, unsure of what to say. "What do you know about aliens?"

Sierra blinked, bemused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well… oh, no easy way to say this. I am an alien."

Sierra just stared at him.

"And also, my kind is in a civil war that has span centuries and that we have been using Earth as our battleground for the past few years."

She chuckled. "That was pretty good," she said. "You should put it up on that one fanfiction site."

"Actually, I am serious."

Sierra shook her head. "Even if I believe what you are saying, why does this affect me?" she said turning away.

There was the sound of shifting gears behind her, and Jack said, "Because you are one of the few who know about us."

Sierra turned around and almost screamed. Standing, or rather crouching behind her was the same robot from the day before! Only this time, the battlemask was gone and she could see that its facial features almost resembled Jack's! In fact, she could see him in the robot's posture, his stance, even in the way he looked at her.

"If you are… were an alien robot all these years, why are you telling me now?" she asked.

Jack shook his helm. "That would for Da-Optimus Prime to explain."

"Who's Optimus Prime?"

"Just go for it, girl!"

Sierra and the robot who was claiming to be Jack froze and turned to see Lisa standing in the entryway of the alley. Lisa was Sierra's best friend. She wasn't as crazy as Miko, the Japanese transfer student, but she was pretty close.

Jack facepalmed. "Scrap," he muttered.

* * *

The highway was quiet, until a dark blue Ferrari raced along it. Sitting in the driver's seat was Sierra, while Lisa sat in the passenger seat. "Why are we bringing her again?" asked Sierra.

"Rules," Jack said, the dashboard lights blinking with his voice.

Lisa bounced in her seat, full of nervous excitement. "This is so cool!" she said.

Jack released a burst of static that sounded like a sigh. "Great, now there's two of them," he muttered.

"Two of who?" asked Sierra.

Jack didn't answer and drove through an intersection. Before she could say anything, the stone wall in front of them opened into a tunnel that lead inside the mesa. Jack drove into it and into an area with more giant robots.

Sierra stared wide-eyed. One of the robots looked up from where he was typing at a huge computer. He was another mech, and was colored white and orange. He had a backpack-like object on his back with an antennae hanging off of it. He turned around and narrowed his optics. "I thought there were only two humans," he said.

"Didn't you hear?" said Wheeljack, who came out of the corridor. "Humans multiply."

He was rewarded with a slap on the helm from Elita who came right behind him. "Play nice," she said.

Wheeljack rubbed his helm. "Yes, ma'am," he said.

Lisa got out of Jack and walked up to the green mech. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Bulkhead."

"Are you a car? I bet you're a truck, a monster truck! Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weigh? Ever use a wrecking ball for a punching bag?"

Jack transformed and shook his head. "And who does she remind me off?" he asked.

"Knock it off, UP," Miko said, coming down from the human area.

Lisa turned to her. "Miko?" she asked. "They got you too?"

The transfer student laughed. "They didn't get me, 'cause I was already one of them," she said. With that, she spun on her heel and her outline blurred and grew bigger. When it cleared, standing in her place was the pink robot from yesterday, with a mischievous glint in her optics.

Lisa blinked. And then squealed. "THAT'S SO COOL!" she said.

Elita shook her helm. "She really is a second Kaosu," she said.

Sierra blinked and then saw Terry and Raf coming towards her. "Hey," the older boy said.

"Don't tell me," she said. "You're also a giant robot."

Terry laughed. "No, actually Raf's the bot," he said. "And technically they're aliens."

"Aliens?" asked Lisa.

The ground shook and everyone looked up to see a huge thirty foot red and blue robot approaching.

"Yes," Optimus Prime said. "We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. Better known as Autobots. I am Optimus Prime. This is my medic, Ratchet."

The bot at the computer grunted.

"Our two Wreckers, Bulkhead and Wheeljack."

They both waved a servo.

"Our scout Bumblebee."

A yellow and black mech with doorwings on his back did a thumbs up and beeped a greeting.

"My SIC, Elita-1."

"Not to mention his sparkmate," the pink femme added.

"And we have one more member, but she isn't here at the moment. And I believe you know our young ones."

"Hiya," said the pink femme. "I'm Miko, but my real name is Kaosu."

"Isn't that Japanese for 'chaos'?" asked Lisa.

"Yep!"

"Is she always like this?" Terry asked.

"Pretty much," replied Raf. "My real name's Firewall by the way."

Sierra looked up at Jack. "And who are you?" she asked.

"Ultimus Prime," was the answer she got.

"So, why are you here?" asked Terry.

"To protect your world from the Decepticons," Optimus answered.

"The jokers who tried to bump us off yesterday," said Kaosu.

"Okay," said Sierra. "Why are _they _here?"

"In part, Sierra, because our own planet is uninhabitable. It is ravaged by centuries of civil war."

"How come you are fighting a war?"

"Foremost, for control of our world's supply of Energon, the lifeblood of Autobot and Decepticon alike. At the start, I fought alongside my brother, but during war, ideals become corrupted, and so Megatron lost his way."

"So what does Megatron have to do with any of this?" Terry asked.

"Megatron has not been heard from in some time. But if his return is imminent, as I fear it is, it would be catastrophic."

* * *

On the _Nemesis, _Starscream was looking at another transmission Soundwave was displaying. "This signal is coming from deep space. I hate to waste the Energon-"

Slipstream rolled her eyes.

"-but if you are absolutely certain, then lock on the coordinates and activate the Spacebridge."

* * *

In the deepness of space, a huge ring floated. Suddenly, it lit up with energy, forming a blue vortex. Out of the vortex, flew a grey spacecraft that transformed into a terrifying mech with a cannon on his arm. Megatron raised his arms and shouted to the heavens, "DECEPTICONS, I HAVE RETURNED!"

* * *

**_And that's a wrap._**

**_I'm not going to be focusing on this too much, at least not until Season One of Prime 10 is finished._**

**_On this story however, did I do too much? Make too many changes? Could it be better? If so, how? Please review, I depend on those._**

**_-Bibliothekar of the LibraryNexus_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey, I'm back! The next chapter for Prime 10 is taking a while, so I'm updating this one.**_

**_Before we get into the story, I need to do some things first. I added in some more Decepticons to keep the sides even. Their designs are based off of various works of art I found on DeviantArt. Miko and Raf's Autobot names were inspired by LuisJM (sorry for not asking), however, their robot forms are mine. Ultimus's inspiration (plus the inspiration for this story) come from Elhini Prime. Elita's design is also from DeviantArt, and was created by X4vrztesp. All other bots you've seen currently_****_, plus Sierra, _****_belong to Hasbro and Terry and Lisa belong to me!_**

_**That's everything. So, here we go.**_

_**When I refer to the kids by their Autobots names, they'll be in bot form, and human names while in human form.**_

_**Blitzwing's speech:**_

_"_Lucid Icy"

"ANGRY HOTHEAD!"

_"Random Random"_

_**I do not own Transformers Prime or any other characters. Only my own OCs.**_

Rising Darkness Pt. 2

In the Canadian wilderness, Blitzwing stood beside the entrance of a tunnel leading inside of a mountain. Beside him was another Decepticon. This was a dark purple, with a light-grey helm that resembled a skull and a blood-red optic in the middle of it. This was Lugnut, the most loyal Decepticon of the bunch.

However, that frantic loyalty got on Icy Blitzwing's circuits. Which was why he was more than happy to let Random talk to him.

_"__And so I said, 'That's my muffin, and I want it back!'" _he said with a cackle.

"But we weren't talking about muffins," said the heavy hitter, scratching his helm with an oversized claw.

Blitzwing huffed and put his servos on his hips. _"Well, excuse me for being random,"_ he said. _"It's in my character description!"_

Before the two bots could continue, the _Nemesis _appeared and lowered its tube. Out of it, stepped Starscream and a 'Con that both of them recognized. Both snapped to attention and saluted, as Icy Blitzwing took control again. "Lord Megatron!" they both said.

Megatron nodded at them and both relaxed. Starscream started talking as the two officers went into the tunnel with Blitzwing and Lugnut close behind. "Out of all the Energon deposits we have located while you were away, this one by far is the most significant. The drones have been mining without pause and have amassed quite a stockpile." He saw a random Vehicon standing around. "You there, fetch me a sample," he said.

Lugnut grabbed his head and hoisted smaller 'Con of the ground until he was at Lugnut's optic level. "Silence!" he said. "Lord Megatron commands the Decepticons, not you!"

"At ease, Lugnut," said Megatron. "I can issue my own threats."

The big brute relaxed and dropped Starscream to the ground. "Yes, of course, my liege."

Starscream picked himself up and said, "Well then. As your humble servant, shall I ready the spacebridge? To bring forth the Decepticon army that you must have surely gathered in your three years in space?"

"My army will come," said Megatron. "But, my time away has yielded a more… intriguing way of materializing them." With that, he pulled a dark purple crystal that looked like it had a dark haze billowing off of it. "A solidified form of matter that the ancient texts refer to as… the blood of Unicron."

The other three Decepticons took a step back. "Unicron the Destroyer?" asked Blitzwing. "But… it is said that his blood is the Anti-Spark."

"Plucked from the cosmic shores… gaze upon Dark Energon," said Megatron.

Starscream gazed fearfully at the dark substance. "Legend says that it has the power to… revive the dead."

"We only require a cadaver to be certain," said Megatron. "Who will make the ultimate sacrifice?" he said, looking at his lieutenants.

Starscream spoke up. "There's no need for that, my lord. If I may?" he said, pointing in another direction.

A couple of drones appeared, pushing a floating table. On it was the dead form of Cliffjumper.

"Consider it a welcome home present," said Starscream.

Megatron grinned sadistically as he gazed at the dead Autobot.

* * *

"Since you now know of our existence," said Optimus, "I fear that as of last night, the Decepticons know of yours."

"Got it," said Sierra. "If we see any strange vehicles, call 911."

"Are you insane?" cried Lisa. "I'm living a dream in Botswana! And I will not allow you, or anyone else to shatter it!"

"It is best that you remain under our watch," said Optimus. "At least, until we can determine our enemies' true intentions."

"Optimus," Ratchet said. "With all due respect, the children are in a much danger here as anywhere."

"Children?" asked Terry. "I'm eighteen, dude."

"They have no protective shell!" continued Ratchet. "If they get underfoot, they'll go _squish!"_ He stamped his pede for emphasis.

Optimus had a faint smile on his faceplates. "Then for now, we will have to watch were we step," he said.

"I haven't been stepped on yet," Raf muttered.

"What was that?" asked Lisa.

"Nothing!"

Terry stepped in. "It sounded like he said that he hasn't been stepped on yet," he said.

"Why's that?" asked Lisa. "He's a giant robot also." She then thought of something. "You are a giant robot, right?"

Ultimus shook his helm. "You're going to have to show them sometime," he said.

Raf's shoulders slumped. "Alright," he said and his frame blurred.

When it had cleared, there was another robot standing in his place. He had a small pair of wings on his back that promised flight one day. Instead of glasses, he had a visor that covered the upper half of his face. Unlike the others, his armor was smooth, lacking any type of details.

However, it was his size that made him stand out from the other Autobots. He was just seven feet tall. He was still taller than all the humans in the base, but tiny compared to the rest of his kind.

"Dude, you're tiny!" said Lisa.

Firewall stared at her. Well, it was hard to tell with the half-visor. "I know," he said. "You don't have to rub it in."

Trying to defuse the situation, Sierra asked, "How come you guys can appear as humans?"

Kaosu jerked a thumb at Ultimus. "It's Jackrabbit's doing," she said.

"How?"

Ultimus stepped forward. "The name Prime is not just a surname," he said. "It is also a position of great power. So, individual Primes are gifted with a Legacy."

"A what?"

"A special power, for lack of a better term. Vector Prime was said to be able to control space and time, Solus Prime could construct anything out of nothing, and Dad's power is that he has an accelerated healing factor."

"What's yours?"

"I am able to change my species and the species of others. There are limits to what I can do with everyone, but if I can get ahold of them, I can change them."

Right then, Sierra could see that Lisa was going to ask him to use his gift on her. However, before she could ask, an alarm sounded.

"What is that?" Terry asked.

"The Fowler alert," Kaosu quipped, holding her hands to her helm.

Bumblebee punched her on the arm and beeped something. Before one of the bots could translate, Terry said, "Proximity alarm. Someone's up top."

The younger bots stared at Terry. "You can understand 'Bee?" asked Firewall.

Ratchet looked at one of the monitors. "It's Agent Fowler," he said.

"I just said that!" said Kaosu.

"Wait, I thought we were the only humans who know about you," said Sierra.

"Agent Fowler is out designated liaison to the outside world," said Optimus. "And he tends to only visit when there are… _issues."_

Elita stepped forward. "Given his volatile nature, it is best if you don't meet him at this time."

"He doesn't go in the medbay," said Ultimus. "You can hide in there."

The three humans took his advice and ran into the room as the elevator came down. Out stepped an African-American man dressed in a suit jacket with a short tie. He stormed in and shouted, "PRIME!"

"You or me?" said Ultimus.

Ignoring his son's joke, the elder Prime stepped forward to the agent who continued to talk. "Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender benders, a three hour traffic jam, and numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of an unknown make and a pink pickup truck." He glared at the Cybertronian. "Anything you would like to get off your tin chest, Prime?"

"We had the situation under control, Agent Fowler," Optimus said.

"Besides, it was mostly Kaosu," piped up Firewall.

"HEY!" cried the femme.

While the other two kept watching, Sierra looked around the medbay… and gasped. Underneath one of the berths were a pair of blue optics. "Hello?" she said.

The optics moved toward her and their owner came into the light. Sierra almost let out an 'aww' at the sight. The optics belonged to another robot. Sierra had never thought that a robot could be cute, but this one fit the criteria. It was a femme, and had sky-blue armor, with lavender highlights. She had tiny winglets on its back and small horns on her helm. There was an air of innocence about her that none of the other bots had.

"Who are you?" Sierra asked. Was this the missing member Prime had mentioned?

The femme didn't answer. She just sat down and made soft chirping sounds.

"Can you talk?"

She tilted her helm and made some more chirps, as well as some whistles.

"BULKHEAD, I NEEDED THAT!"

Sierra and the mini-robot turned their heads to see Bulkhead standing over the remains of a grappler arm. The small bot burst out into chirps and whistles while Sierra grinned.

"Enough," said Optimus. Turning back to the agent, he said, "Military involvement will only lead to catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone widespread casualties, Agent Fowler. I, however, cannot."

Fowler scowled. "Then do us both a favor and handle this Prime… _under_ the radar." With that, he went back into the elevator and went back up. Before the doors closed, he added, "Or I will."

"Pretty big bearings. For a human," said Bulkhead.

"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead," said Optimus. "As he should be."

Just then, a new femme walked into the area. She had dark blue armor, with pink highlights and stood about fifteen feet high. "Has anyone seen Aurora? She snuck away when I wasn't looking."

At the sound of the new femme's voice, the small bot perked up and began chirping and whistling.

Ultimus grinned. "I think I know where she is," he said.

The new femme ignored him and walked into the medbay. The smaller bot chirped and raised her arms in the universal language for 'pick me up.'

The femme complied, picking up her child. After the baby had let out a few more chirps, she looked at Sierra. "Hello," she said.

"Hi," said the human. "I'm Sierra."

"Call me Arcee. And this is Aurora."

Aurora chirped and waved a tiny servo.

Sierra couldn't help but laugh. It was so cute! "Who's the father?" she asked.

Arcee's optics dimmed and she looked down. Sierra realized that she had hit a sore spot. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay," the femme interrupted. "He died a few days ago."

Sierra blinked as she made the connection. "You're Jack's aunt?"

Arcee nodded. "Yes, Elita is my sister."

"Wait… he's Prime's son?"

"Yep."

"Do Mr. and Mrs. Darby know?"

There was a laugh from Elita. "I should know," she said, "since I _am _Mrs. Darby!"

Sierra opened and closed her mouth for a few seconds as she saw the similarities between the pink femme and the dark-haired nurse. Arcee gave off a small laugh at her… then gasped and grasped at her spark chamber.

"What is it?" Sierra asked.

* * *

_Five minutes earlier…_

Megatron looked at the corpse of Cliffjumper. "Let us see if the power born from darkness can reignite the spark," he said. With that, he plunged the shard into the dead Autobot's spark chamber.

The chassis jerked as the hole sealed itself. When it was sealed, Cliffjumper opened his optics. However, they weren't the normal Autobot blue, rather a sickly purple, and ominous vapors began seeping out of his armor. He let out a feral growl, and charged towards a couple of Vehicons that were standing around. They barely had time to react before one's helm was ripped off and the other one was being beaten with his own arm.

The reactions of the Decepticons were varied. Starscream took a couple of steps back, Lugnut fainted, and Blitzwing switched faces. _"ZOMBIE! ZOMBIE! Kill it! Kill it with fire!" _he cried as the revived Autobot ran toward him.

"That's your plan?" Starscream said. "Bring back Autobots from the dead to attack us?"

"That is no longer an Autobot Starscream," Megatron said. "Just a mindless beast, who's only instinct is to destroy anything in its path."

Just then, there was a short laugh. The two Decepticons froze, then turned to look at the recently revived Autobot who was looking at them.

"Hate to disappoint you, bucket-head," Cliffjumper said. "But I'm still feeling my good old self." With that, he charged at the Decepticon lord.

With centuries of experience, Megatron engaged his blade and cut Cliffjumper in half. His torso landed at Megatron's legs while his legs fell down to the next level.

"It appears that you were wrong," Starscream said with a sneer… just before he was hit with a blaster shot.

"You're my next priority, Starscream," Cliffjumper said, not at all bothered that he was in two pieces.

Megatron lashed a pede in a kick, sending Cliffjumper after his legs. He and Starscream watched the falling Autobot.

Slipstream walked into the room in time to see Cliffjumper go down. "What the Pit was that?" she asked.

"My army," said Megatron. "If I can get them under my control."

* * *

Ratchet slammed a fist on his computer console. "Blasted Earth tech!" he said. "Cliffjumper's life signal has come back online!"

The bots looked up with hope in their optics, while Lisa asked, "Who's Cliffjumper?"

"How is that possible?" asked Optimus.

"It isn't," said Ratchet. "Just another bug. The system's full of them."

"No, it's not." The Prime and the medic looked at Arcee. "I can feel him. He's alive!"

Optimus nodded. "Very well then," he said. "Ratchet, prepare sickbay. We may need it."

Kaosu bounced forward. "Can I come with?" she asked.

Optimus shot her a look.

"Come on, you'll need all the help you can get."

He sighed and said, "Fine. Just stay close to your sire."

"Righto!" she said, and went over to stand beside Wheeljack.

The Wrecker smiled. "Are you ready, kiddo?"

"Pit, yeah!"

Bumblebee let out a long beep. Kaosu responded by sticking out her glossa.

"Ultimus, are you coming?" asked Optimus.

The young Prime nodded.

"Very well."

"What can we do?" asked Lisa.

"Remain with Ratchet," both Primes said.

"Uh," said both Lisa and the medic.

"Ratchet, activate the groundbridge." When the vortex had opened up, the Prime said, "Autobots, transform and roll out!"

With that, the assembled Autobots transformed into their vehicle modes and went into the vortex.

"Wh-what just happened?" asked Sierra.

"I just transported them to the designated coordinates via the groundbridge," Ratchet said.

"Okay… what's a groundbridge?"

Ratchet vented and said, "A groundbridge is a scaled-down version of spacebridge technology. However, since we don't have the means… or Energon… required for intergalactic travel…"

"You're stuck here on Earth," finished Sierra.

"So… does it work for humans?" asked Lisa.

"It does," he replied. He then got a mischievous glint in his optics. "In fact, let me transport all of you to a designation of your choice, free of charge!"

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "Watch it Ratchet," she said.

The medic took a step back… and was hit in the helm with a big wrench. He turned around to see Firewall standing around innocently… as a metal tentacle snaked behind his back.

* * *

In the Energon mine, the vortex opened and the Autobots drove out. Once they did, they transformed and readied their weapons and looked around. "An Energon mine," said Bulkhead.

"Judging by its scale," said Elita, pulling out her blaster, "the Decepticons have been mining here for some time."

Optimus straightened up to his full height and activated his own blaster. "Let's find Cliffjumper," he said.

The Autobots crept silently next to the wall, moving stealthy as a bunch of alien robots could. They were halfway across the room when they were spotted by a Vehicon who began firing at them.

"Hey, Jackrabbit!" called Kaosu. "I've got four!"

"You're seriously doing that again?" Ultimus called back.

"Of course I am!" the femme cried as she shot another one. "Five!"

"Well, I've got seven!"

"No fair! Six!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Nine!"

A big explosion interrupted their competition. The two young bots turned to look at Wheeljack, who was missing the one grenade he always carried around. "Forty-two," he said with a smirk.

"Dad!"

* * *

"What's this thing do?" Lisa asked.

"Broken. Don't touch," said Ratchet, not even looking her way.

Lisa crept over to another item…

"Don't touch that either."

"Is there anything we can touch?" asked Terry.

"Not really," said Raf. He was back in his human form, swinging his legs on the platform edge.

"Aren't you scared of falling?" asked Sierra.

Raf shook his head. "Not really," he said. "Then again, I am a Seeker. We are more comfortable off of the ground."

"So, what do you do whenever they go on missions?" asked Lisa.

"I work with programming and the computers, but I mostly play with Blackcat."

"Who?"

Just then, a robotic feline bounded into the main area. It slid to a halt when it saw the new arrivals. "O, hia hoomans!" it said. "Nce 2C u!"

Lisa blinked. "What is that?" she asked.

Raf scratched the cat's ears as it bounded beside him. "This is Blackcat. He's one of my father's cassettes."

"What's a cassette?"

"A cassette is a smaller Cybertronian that is usually bonded to a larger one. My father, Blaster, gave me this one before he went on a mission."

"Where's Blaster now?" asked Terry.

Raf shrugged. "Don't know. I do know that he is still alive."

"How do you know that?"

"I share a familiar bond with him. With those you can always tell if the one on the other end is alive or not."

"So, is that why Arcee's sure that Cliffjumper is alive?" asked Lisa.

"Yes. Optimus and Elita also have a bond, but with theirs, they are closer than most bots. It's very complicated to explain."

"I bet."

* * *

The 'Bots were driven behind a bunch of crates. There, they paused to catch a break. "Quite an operation they have," mused Bulkhead.

"I'm all for smashing it," said Kaosu.

Shaking his helm at the youngest Wrecker, Ultimus fired off another shot. He then saw their objective. "I've got a visual on Cliffjumper!" he said.

"I'm going in!" said Arcee.

"We'll cover you," said Optimus. "Go!"

Arcee jumped up on the platform that Ultimus had indicated and saw her partner. "Cliff!" she cried.

She then felt a feeling in her spark that told her that he had heard her. She jumped up to where he was.

She stopped, shocked at what she saw. Cliffjumper was cut in half, his legs lying a few meters away. His formerly blue highlights and optics were now purple, and mists of the same shade were seeping out of his armor.

But he looked up at her, and in his optics was the same carefree look that she had fell in love with all those cycles ago.

Cliffjumper smiled up at her. "You sure took your time," he said.

She looked at him. "Cliff," she said.

A few rocks fell next to her, shaking her out of her reprieve. "Come on," she said, and grabbed his servo. "Let's get you home, partner," she said.

Cliffjumper shook his helm. "It's too late for me," he said. "I'm dead already."

"No!" said Arcee. "I'm not going to lose you again!"

"But if you take me, you will anyway." He grimaced as a pain shot through his processor. "I'm losing control. I don't know how much longer I can hold it off. Starscream's going to blow the mine. I can buy you some time."

"No!" said Arcee.

Cliffjumper pulled himself up and gave her one last kiss. "I love you," he said.

His sparkmate gave him one last, pleading look and ran towards the opening groundbridge.

Cliffjumper watched her go and engaged his blasters. "You want the horns?" he said. "WELL, YOU'VE GOT THEM!"

The remaining drones turned towards Cliffjumper and started firing back. Big mistake on their part.

For it was just enough for the Autobots to make it safely through the groundbridge before the mine blew up.

And so Cliffjumper died a second time.

* * *

The humans and Ratchet watched the vortex, watching for any sign of the rest of the Autobots. Then, eight vehicles skidded into the base, followed by some blue flames.

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?" said the medic. Getting serious, he asked, "What happened to Cliffjumper?"

The silence was all the answer he needed. Even Lisa picked up on the mood and didn't start asking questions, for which Sierra was grateful.

Optimus turned to Arcee. "What did you see?" he asked.

The femme shivered. "It was Cliff," she said. "But he was changed. He looked one of the 'Con's experiments from the war… mutated, _butchered…" _her voice cracked and she sat down suddenly on a crate.

"Arcee!" said Elita. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Just… dizzy."

The three humans were stunned at this statement. "Robots who get dizzy?" said Lisa.

"Robots with emotion," said Terry.

"Robots… who can die," said Sierra with a grim finality.

Ratchet ran a scanner over Arcee, which turned bright red when it went over a dark purple liquid on her left servo. "What is that?" he asked.

"Don't know," said Arcee. "Cliff was covered in it, leaking it."

Ratchet scraped off a sample. "Go take a decontamination bath," he said gently. "Now."

She numbly allowed herself to be led to the medbay area by Wheeljack. Sierra watched her. Jack had always described his aunt as a strong-willed individual, who didn't take anything from anybody. Seeing her like this was like seeing her grandma after her parents had died… being strong for everyone, but falling apart on the inside.

Thinking about her grandma reminded her of more mundane things, like her curfew. She checked her phone to contact her, and discovered a problem.

"Optimus," Sierra said. "I hate to bug, but… no bars."

"A security precaution," the Prime said. "The silo walls isolate all radio waves."

"Well, if I don't call my grandma right now, I'm pretty sure she's going to have the cops looking for me."

"Have you broken a law?" Optimus asked, confused.

"Curfew," clarified Sierra. "It's after 10 p.m."

"I'd better get home, too," said Terry. "Or Mom's going to ground me for a year!"

"Earth customs," said Optimus. "I have not considered them."

Kaosu snickered. "And how long have you been here?" she said.

Optimus ignored her. "However, the issue of your safety still stands." He looked over to where the Wreckers were lounging around. A faint smile then touched his faceplates. "Kaosu, you shall accompany Lisa home."

Kaosu grinned while Lisa said, "Awesome! My parents will freak!"

"And maintain covert surveillance in vehicle mode."

"Awww," both girls said.

Bulkhead shrugged. "Curbside duty," he said. "It comes with the job."

"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Terry."

The scout beeped and Terry said, "Fine by me."

Optiums then turned his attention to finding a guardian for Sierra. He would have sent Arcee, but the blue femme had retired to her berth, shaken up from losing her sparkmate for the second time. Bulkhead was to go on patrol for the night, Wheeljack wasn't really good at keeping undercover, and Ratchet was…

"Busy!"

He was considering pulling Bulkhead from patrol, when Elita contacted him through their bond. _You do realize she lives next door to us?_

His optics widened at that realization. _You're right,_ he said. Out loud, he said, "Ultimus and Elita, accompany Sierra home."

Sierra looked up at the two Autobots who nodded. Elita transformed into her vehicle mode while Ultimus went to Jack Darby and got into the passenger seat. "You aren't driving?" she asked.

A laugh came from Elita and a hologram of June Darby appeared in the seat. "No need, I can handle it."

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Why do I feel like I feel like I walked into that one?" she asked.

Optimus smiled as his family drove out of the base, followed by the other two Autobots and their assigned charges. He then turn to watch Arcee stagger to her berth, holding onto Aurora. Ratchet followed his gaze. "Someone should watch her," he said.

"I will do it, old friend," the Prime said. "You should rest yourself."

"No can do," replied the medic. "I have to analyze this sample."

"Don't tire yourself out," cautioned Optimus.

Ratchet rolled his optics. "Don't worry," he said. "I'll be fine."

Optimus nodded and went to watch Arcee, while Ratchet headed for his lab. For a while, there was peace.

* * *

Not so much on the _Nemesis. _Megatron was staring at the chunk of Dark Energon he had brought back from deep space. He was interrupted from his musing by the return of Starscream. "I don't think you have to worry about Autobot interference anymore, not with Optimus Prime gone."

"And what evidence do you have to prove this?" asked the tyrant.

"I destroyed the mine, per your instructions."

"Optimus is not easily destroyed," said Megatron. "We have centuries of battles behind us to prove it."

Starscream saw that his leader was looking at the Dark Energon hungrily. "Perhaps you should take a rest," he said. "I fear that the Dark Energon will have a debilitating effect on you."

Megatron narrowed his optics. "I didn't ask for your opinion, Starscream," he said.

Slipstream spoke up. "I don't usually agree with my brother," she said. "But this time, he has a point."

"This time!?"

"I fear that you have been exposed to the Dark Energon too much."

"Or perhaps, I haven't exposed myself enough!" said Megatron as he broke off a piece from the main chunk.

The optics of both Seekers widened when they saw where it was going. "Not your spark chamber!" said Slipstream.

"You don't know what it will do!" finished Starscream.

But it was too late. Megatron had jabbed the piece into his spark chamber. The Decepticon leader began to shake as his optics turned from red to purple.

* * *

Ratchet took another look at the sample of the liquid under a microscope. "The base elements of this stuff is nothing like I ever seen before," he muttered. "It has to be highly concentrated for it to have affected Arcee so quickly."

He took the slide out from under his microscope and moved to a different part of the lab. "Although this would have been faster if I had the proper equipment, thank you very much, Bulkhead."

The lab shook as a muffled boom sounded from across the base. "And Wheeljack, as if I could forget about him."

He was too muttering about 'clumsy Wreckers and explosion-prone inventors' to notice that a drop of the purple liquid had fallen off of the slide and onto the broken manipulator arm that Bulkhead had broken earlier. The drop seeped into the inner workings of the arm and the whole thing lit up with purple light.

The arm twitched, then transformed into a spidery robot that began looking for its first victim.

* * *

**_And... cut!_**

**_So, the big M's back, and that's not good._**

**_And enter Aurora, Arcee's sparkling!_**

**_About Cliffjumper's sentience, that plot bunny hit me. I mean, Megatron kept his mind, Trypticon regained his mind, so why not Cliffjumper? I can understand the other Terrorcons, they weren't infused with a shard, but why didn't Cliffjumper keep his mind._**

**_Might make that a story when I have more time._**

**_Sorry, rambling. Carrying on._**

**_If you couldn't tell, I making this Wheeljack an inventor, like his G1 self._**

**_Speaking of Wheeljack, who do you guys want to take his place in 'Con Job?' I'm thinking either Ironhide or Dinobot. I'll put up a poll soon so that you can tell me which one you would like to see. I'll give you guys more details the next time I update this._**

**_As always, review! Thanks to those who did so far!_**

**_If you see anything I missed, let me know!_**

**_-Bibliothekar of the LibraryNexus_**


	3. Author's Note

6/10/2015

Hey, it's me. Sorry for disappearing for two weeks, but I had reasons. I am here to tell you what will be going on.

*sigh* As much as I hate to admit it, I am suffering from Writer's block. As such, I am taking a break from posting new chapters and stories this month. I need some time to adjust to being home from college, I am waiting to hear back on a job offer, and I need to rediscover my writing spark.

But I won't twiddling my thumbs. I will be working on my current stories, as well as working on some new projects I have had my eye on. Just don't expect to see any new material until July.

Before I close, I want to say thanks. Thank you all for reading my stories and commenting on them. I joined FanFiction to write the stories that I wanted to be written and to share them with others. I hope that all of you had as much fun reading my tales as I had writing them. Again thank you all, and see you in July.

-Bibliothekar of the LibraryNexus.


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